Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 35, Number 88, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 July 1903 — FARM AND GARDEN [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FARM AND GARDEN

Growing the Beat Apples. Aa time goes on the consumers of fruit hi large quantities, which are mainly found In large cities, are becoming educated to quality. The time has gone when, they are deceived by appearance. The writer has seen many consumers go to stores for apples and taste several varieties before buying. In this way they learn: to fight shy of snch fine-looking fruit as the Ben Davis apple, which Is so devoid of quality. Then there is a decided Increase in the consumption of baked apples In restaurants and hotels, hence the owners of these places have learned to- buy those varieties that have good quality rather than good appearance, and, as a rule, are quite willing to pay for what they want. Growers-of fruit should take this lesson home and make up their minds that In future the consumer must be catered to if fruit Is to be sold at a fair margin of profit. The question of grades must also have attention, for these city consumers who are willing to pay for quality want that quality In size and perfection of fruit as well as In the flavor. There Is a market for second and third grades as well as the first grade, but they must be distinctly separated to bring the best returns for each.—lndianapolis News.

Attachment for Team Harness. There are but very few of the articles used by our great-grandfathers which still retain their old form, with little change or Improvement, but among this number may be counted the harness which Is used on horses for hauling purposes. Practically the same pattern of harness has been used for many years past, while other things introduced with It have been altered beyond recognition or displaced altogether. That there was still a chance for improvement Is shown by the picture here represented, iillustrating a change in the construction of a heavy team harness, which will at least add to the comfort of the animal. The principal advan.age of this arrangement Is that It does away with the strap passing around the animal’s body, which of necessity interfered

somewhat with the muscular exertion and added to the discomfort in hot weather. In this Improvement a short curved strap is laid over the back, being held In place by a strap passing from the breeching to the collar, and only coming Into play when the animals are backing. The traces are entirely free of the harness from collar to whiffletree, and afford a chance for a straight pull, without Interference from any other portion of the harness. Frederick L. Ainsworth of Turner, Kansas, is the Inventor.

Deep Plowing.

Much of the advice in favor of deep plowing Is out of place on hill farms with the topsoil only six to eight inches deep. Plowing which brings much subsoil top’he top is not desirable. But there are many fields with good depths of rich, dark loam that have never been properly worked. Such lands need never be called worn out until thorough plowing and harrowing again has enabled the plant roots to get at some of the locked-up fertility In the bottom layers. Simply to bring up the lower soil and then to turn It down again the following season is not needed so much as to thoroughly twist and fine the soil, exposing It to air and sun. For potatoes and root crops deep plowing Is desirable, also to loosen the soil for root and tuber growth.—American Cultivator.

Some Insect Pe»t*; ' Dust asparagus beetles with lime or spray with parls green or hellebore. Stop the apple-tree borer by applying pari! green In whitewash to the trunks and large limbs. For common fruit and leaf-eating Insects keep the foliage covered with bordeaux and parls green mixture. Farls green will kill currant worms, eabliage worms, striped beetle, celery and tomato worm, etc., but hellebore Is a little safer to use (one ounce In two gallons water). For cabbage and turnip fly dust with ashes. Tree and plant lice are killed by tobacco water or insect powder.— Exchange. New W«jr to Make Batter. L. H. Williams, vice president of the Akron (O.) C’okl Distilling Company, claims to be;the discoverer of a method of making butter without first removing the cfenm. He does not go into details, l>dt says: “The discovery is not one of mere chance, but Ik the result of a year's hard work, t was given the insight from our cold distilling process'npd have spent much time and study on it

I have testeo the machine before aer- 1 eral prominent capitallsta of the city, and they are now back of me. We will build a plant and put the product on the markets—Creamery Journal. :: : ' Plan of Cattle Barn. Eastman Bros., of Illinois, In the Breeder’s Gazette, describe the plan of a cattle barn which they have used for several years,' The bam Is 96 feet by 48 feet. It is a pole barn with posts 20 feet high, and a corncrlb 80 by 12 feet runs through the center of the barn. The. lower boards of the crib are hinged and feed boxes built on level with the crib bottom so as to make practically a self-feeder, especially when feeding shelled com. Hogs sleep under the corncrlb. *

Hayracks on the sides are eighty feet long. Hay Is put In at the ends of the barn. Sliding doors, controlled by weights, are used at the ends of tbe mow. They are closed , when the b&y is in the mow. There are doors along side of the haymow. When filling the mow we leave a space of four feet between the hay and the sides of the bam, which enables us to throw hay into the racks when feeding. The south end Is open. The north end has doors which we close In bad weather. We have lots on the north, south and east of the barn and scales east of

the bam, so we can weigh cattle any time. This bam will easily accommodate 100 cattle. We are now feeding 101 head, ninety-seven of which are Herefordsl. This kind of a bam is a great time and labor saver. We keep It well bedded and.it Is always dry.

Feeding Soft Corn.

Feeders who tried finishing cattle on soft com reported very unsatisfactory results. But the lowa experiment station recently marketed some cattle fed on soft earn alongside others fed on sound corn of the 1901 crop, and the results were decidedly favorable to the former feed. At the prices for soft and sound com prevailing when the cattle were put on feed the advantage was with the lower priced corn. Aud the steers fed on it outdressed by a small margin those fed on sound corn. The.-difference in killing, however, Is not greater than might occur in any two lots of cattle. Either the feeders have been wrong in their estimate of the value of soft corn or the lowa station’s experience Is exceptional. Probably difference Jn the quality of the com may account for it, as some feeders Include In tlielr definition of “soft” com the light, chaffy, immature stuff of comparatively low feeding value.—Stockman and Farmer.

How He Keeps the Dos* Off.

“I hgve for several years used a preventive for sheep killing by dogs that has never failed to work,” said G. J. Robertson,.- a Loudoun County, Vs.. farmer, to a man at the Arlington. “Farmers raising sheep are annoyed to a large extent by prowling dogs gating into their flocks and killing off many of the animals, to say nothing of running the flesh off the others. Until I devised the system I now practice I spent many sleepless nights watching for the prowlers, but without success. The nights I failed to watch I generally lost a sheep or a lamb. Finally I got some powdered" cloves and put It In little bags, which I hung around the neck of each sheep. The dogs made one try for the sheep after the bags were put on, but since that time they have let my sheep severely alone. A small quantity of powdered cloves each year saves me many a dollar, I can tell you.”—Washington Star.

Silage and Storer.

Where It Is desirable to somewhat husband the silage ’and get best results from cut stover the latter Is more relished if mixed with the quantity of silage to be fed and allowed to lie covered with sacks or blankets from one feeding time until another. If not to be used in connection with silage. If mixed with cut hay In quantity sufficient for several days’ feeding and well moistened with water, aud kept covered, or If treated so without being mixed with hay or other material, the cows will eat more and with muchdess waste than if fed dry. —National Stockman. V

Poultry In the South,

The South seems to be coming toward the front as a poultry section. In Georgia during the year 1900 there were 4,549,144 chickens over three months old. 103.416 turkey*. 208,997 geese and 04.893 ducks, all valued at $1,458,003; the eggs produced were valued at $1,615,338 and numbered 15, 505.330 dozen. Alabama, although a smaller State, produced 18.778.980 dozen eggs, which were valued at $1,825,978 during the Same year.

Uniform Egz* for Hatching.

Don’t try to hatch eggs from different classes of fowls at the same time. Hens’ eggs and ducks’ eggs, for Instance. do not go well together. Neither do eggs from different classes, such as Leghorns and Plymouth Rocks. Ax a rule, dark-shelled eggs go well together. no matter what the breeds, and the same is true of white-shelled eggs.

AFFORDS FREE MOVEMENT.

THE EASTMAN BARN.